March 24, 2023

Second Time Around

Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2023
Pages: 304
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When empty nester Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Portside, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property in order to complete his plans to redevelop the funky town's business district into a soulless cookie-cutter outdoor mall, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself.

With a lot of hard work and a little bit of help, Mallory makes incredible progress turning the store into an eclectic home decor shop called Romancing the Home - all while trying to ignore the depressing and decrepit apartment she's living in on the second floor. When the shop catches the eye of a popular renovation TV show producer, Mallory is thrilled - until it becomes clear that her apartment is to be part of the segment as well.

She's tempted to abandon her dreams and the town under a cloud of shame. But perhaps there's more to Grayson than meets the eye. Can he swallow his pride, change his plans, and help Mallory romance her own home - and possibly her life?

Review: I flew through this novel written by one of my go-to authors for "palate-cleansing" reads that I enjoy after a book with heavy/intense themes and plots. It is longer than it should have been with repeated details and unnecessary continual issues for the main character to address, but it was fast-paced enough to keep me interested and turning pages. It's a cute novel, not a perfect one.

If I would have had another 30-45 minutes in me, I could have finished this in one day, but my eyes weren't staying open.

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